Shloka 29
भीमस्य जलान्वेषणं तथा वनविश्रान्तिः
Bhīma’s Search for Water and the Forest Halt
जीप नो सहज अत णिरिवानक ततः :स्वनाम् | भीमसेनो :
bhīmasenaḥ pāñcālānāṃ senāṃ uttāla-taraṅga-vat vikṣubdha-mahāsāgara iva garjanāṃ kurvāṇaḥ | mahābāhur bhīmaseno daṇḍapāṇir yamarāja iva tāṃ viśālāṃ senāṃ praviśat, yathā samudre makaraḥ praviśet | gadādharo bhīmaḥ svayam hastināṃ senāyāṃ prapatat |
Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: Ang hukbong Pāñcāla, na si Bhīmasena ang nasa unahan, ay umuungal na parang malawak na karagatang ginulo hanggang sa magtaas ang mga alon. Si Bhīma, ang makapangyarihang may malalakas na bisig, tangan ang sandatang tila tungkod, ay sumuong sa malaking hukbo na parang si Yama—panginoon ng katarungan at kamatayan—na pumapasok upang ipataw ang di-maiiwasang bunga; gaya ng makara na lumulusong sa dagat. Hawak ang kanyang pamalo, si Bhīma mismo ang sumalakay sa pangkat ng mga elepante, binabasag ang hanay sa lakas na hindi mapipigil.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses Yama and ocean imagery to suggest that in war, overwhelming force can be portrayed as the inevitable arrival of consequence—justice and retribution unfolding with a power that seems unavoidable. It highlights the epic’s tendency to frame violence not merely as personal anger but as part of a larger moral-cosmic order.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the Pāñcāla army roaring like a stormy ocean. Bhīma, wielding his mace, charges into the opposing host and specifically crashes into the elephant contingent, likened to a makara entering the sea—an image of fearless penetration and destructive momentum.